


Everything Is Easier When You're Home

by heyjupiter



Series: Citizens For a A Thanos-Free Universe [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 08:47:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14733788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/pseuds/heyjupiter
Summary: A simple hypothesis:ifThanos hadn't intercepted Thor's ships,thenmaybe Bruce Banner could just have a nice day for once.





	Everything Is Easier When You're Home

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "When You're Home" from _In the Heights_. 
> 
> If it's not clear, this is set immediately after Thor: Ragnarok, but before Infinity War. (Or really: in an AU where Thanos finds a new hobby and Infinity War will never happen.)
> 
> Thanks as usual to tarajuku for beta-ing!

Bruce's eyes flew open. He'd already forgotten whatever he'd been dreaming, and was left only with a lingering sense of panic. He sat up and looked around. He was in a bed, under a clean white sheet. Something was beeping persistently. And sitting in a chair next to him was Tony, who was smiling so wide it made Bruce feel even more panicky.

"Hey, big guy, welcome back," Tony said.

"Hey…" Bruce said.

"Really? I've been sitting here, tending to your bedside like a Civil War nurse for like 12 hours and all I get is 'hey'?"

"Sorry...I'm just...where are we?" 

A door slid open behind Tony and a woman Bruce didn't know walked in. She was wearing scrubs, which made sense with the conclusion Bruce had tentatively drawn, that he was in a hospital. On Earth.

"Dr. Banner, good to see you up." She reached down on the floor beside Bruce and picked up a finger monitor. "Could I put this back on?"

Bruce offered her his index finger and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Once the monitor was back on, the beeping stopped. 

"We won't hold it against you," she said with a smile. "I'm Dr. Prakash. How are you feeling?"

Bruce twisted his hands together, mindful of the monitor. "Kind of weird. I don't know. What happened? Why am I here?" It had been awhile since Bruce had required any kind of medical treatment; Hulk usually took care of that for him.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Bruce thought about it, and Dr. Prakash apparently took his confusion for reticence. "Mr. Stark, why don't you give us some privacy?"

"No way," Tony said immediately. "He's been gone for two years, I'm not leaving until he kicks me out."

Dr. Prakash looked at him and Bruce said, "No, yeah, Tony...Tony can stay, I just…I remember I was...Thor was there. And Loki. And a giant wolf? Oh, god."

"Yes, that pretty much lines up with what Thor told us," Dr. Prakash said. 

"Oh, is Thor here? What--what happened after that? I don't--I must have been, um, Hulk."

"Thor is currently working with the UN to resettle the Asgardian refugees," Dr. Prakash told him.

"Asgardian refugees?"

She paused. "Perhaps you should just rest up, Dr. Banner."

"No! No, please tell me what happened."

"Hey, doc, how about if you just get Bruce whatever drugs he needs and I'll get him up to speed?" Tony offered. 

The doctor sighed and said, "Well, Dr. Banner, the short version is, all of your traveling companions are safely on Earth, and Mr. Stark has been very anxiously waiting for you to regain consciousness. Your vitals look good--we ran some tests while you were asleep and everything seems within normal ranges. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, actually."

"I'll have someone send down some food. Given...given the unknowns of your condition...I think you should probably start with something simple and we'll see how you respond. Are you feeling any pain or discomfort?"

Bruce laughed, and she looked surprised. "No, sorry, I mean...I'm not in physical pain," Bruce said. "I feel fine. I think."

"Very well," she said, though she looked unconvinced. "There's a call button on your bedside table, just press it if you need anything." She gently squeezed his hand. "Welcome home, Dr. Banner."

"Thanks," Bruce said. She nodded and left. Bruce looked over at Tony and said, "Okay, so...where are we? What happened?"

"I'll tell you if you give me a kiss," Tony said.

Bruce, who was sitting up cross-legged in bed, instinctively leaned away from Tony. He had a weird, stale taste in his mouth. "I don't remember much but I do think it's been awhile since I brushed my teeth."

"I don't give a shit," Tony replied. He sat down on the bed next to Bruce and put an arm around him. "It's been _two years_."

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you," Bruce said, and twisted his face to Tony's. Tony gently held Bruce's face with his hands and kissed him softly. Bruce felt his eyes fill with tears.

Tony pulled away. "Hey, I didn't hurt you, did I? Do--do you need any painkillers? I'm sure that doctor's got the good stuff."

"No," Bruce said, "no, it's just--"

He was interrupted by the room's door sliding open, which was okay because he wasn't actually sure what words he could use to describe how overwhelmed he felt. A young man carrying a tray stood frozen for a second in the doorway, obviously aware he had interrupted something. "Um, sorry," he said.

"No, uh, please come in," Bruce said. 

"I'll just leave this here...you can, uh, use the call button if you need anything…" he said, putting the tray on the bedside table and scuttling back out.

"Gross," Tony said, looking at the tray's contents. "I can send out for real food, just tell me what you want."

"This is fine, honestly. The doctor's right, I should probably start with something simple." Bruce took a cup of plain oatmeal off the tray and ate it. As soon as he took the first bite he realized he was even hungrier than he'd thought. It made sense--he knew the Hulk burned a lot of calories, and it was usual for Bruce to be starving after he changed back. But this felt different from usual. He finished the oatmeal quickly and followed it with the toast and banana. Finally he drank the cup of juice and realized with disappointment that the tray was empty.

"So...pizza?" Tony asked drily.

"...yeah, that would be...nice," Bruce agreed. 

Tony tapped on his phone and said, "Soon. Try not to waste away in the meantime."

"No, I'm fine--" Tony raised his eyebrows, and Bruce backpedaled, "Okay, maybe not fine, but, I'll live? But, Tony, what _happened_? I don't remember...much. Thor told me it had been two years, but it really only feels like a few weeks to me."

"Well, I don't know too much either, but I'll see what I can do to fill you in. After we kicked Ultron's ass and saved everybody, _you_ completely disappeared off the radar for two years. Then, two days ago, a couple of giant spaceships showed up in Earth's atmosphere and completely freaked everyone out before Thor figured out how to communicate on our frequency. He told us that Asgard had been completely destroyed but they had a bunch of Asgardian refugees. And...and he said you were there, but he thought you might be stuck as the Hulk...forever. So...he came down to Earth with a shuttle and dropped you off here--"

"Which is where, by the way?" Bruce asked.

"Oh, the new Avengers base, in upstate New York. I figured maybe we should have something...less in the middle of a densely populated urban area."

"Good call."

"I know. _Anyway_ , so, Thor dropped you off here and then went off to talk to the UN about the Asgardian humanitarian crisis, which, I just saw on my phone, it looks like they're going to resettle in Wakanda."

"In _Wakanda_? Isn't that--isn't that a pretty impoverished country?"

"Mmm, see, this is why you shouldn't just leave Earth without leaving a forwarding address, you miss out on so much."

"I guess," Bruce said, feeling dizzy. "But, wait, how'd I--I get back to being me? I--I do remember now, I told Thor that I didn't want to become Hulk ever again because I didn't think I'd be able to change back, not after--um--" Pieces were coming back to Bruce and he suddenly felt embarrassed to tell Tony where he'd been.

Tony's arm tightened around Bruce. "After Ultron?" he asked.

"No, um. I don't really know how I got there, but I guess--I guess I'd been Hulk for--for pretty much the whole time I've been gone. Thor found me maybe a month ago and managed to get me to change back, but...I've never been Hulk for that long...obviously...and I don't…"

Tony's hand made small circles on Bruce's back, and Bruce leaned into it. "Well, I don't want you to get a big head or anything, but Thor said you were _extremely valiant_ and a _hero of Asgard_."

"But how did I change back? I really didn't think I'd be able to." Bruce remembered the agonizing moment when he realized just how bad the fight on Asgard was going to be, when he decided that no matter what the cost was, he couldn't just stand idly by if the Hulk could help.

"I just asked the Hulk nicely if I could please have Bruce back," Tony said smugly.

"What?"

"You know the other guy loves me."

Bruce smiled, remembering how Tony _loved_ the story of Hulk catching him out of the air after the Chitauri attack on Manhattan. "I guess he does," Bruce murmured.

"But then after that, you immediately passed out, because I guess you don't love me as much as the other guy does."

"That's not--" Bruce started to say, when door slid open again and the smell of pizza wafted in with it.

"Thanks, Happy," Tony said, without turning away from Bruce.

Bruce looked up and smiled. "Hey, Happy, thank you," he said.

"Uh, you're welcome, Bruce, glad you're back," Happy said, awkwardly looking away. Bruce looked down to make sure his hospital gown was in place, which it was. He supposed it was still something of an awkward situation, though his own personal tolerance for awkwardness had increased over the years. "Call me if you need anything," Happy said, and left.

"This is a ridiculous amount of pizza," Bruce said, as he opened the top box on the pile. "Ooh, pesto."

"I bet you haven't had pizza in _two years_ ," Tony replied. "If there's anything leftover, it'll keep. I know you like cold pizza."

Bruce ate a lot of pizza very quickly, before finally licking his fingers and sighing. "That was...great, thank you."

"Better than oatmeal?" 

"Incontrovertibly."

"Sure you don't need to collect more data before making a conclusion?" Tony teased.

"Maybe later," Bruce said. "Did you want any? I didn't actually eat all of it."

"It's like 8am, I'll wait."

"It is?" Bruce twisted around, realizing for the first time that his room didn't have a window or a clock. "Wait, where'd the pizza come from?"

"I know this is a disorienting time for you, but please remember that I'm Tony Stark and this is still the state of New York."

Bruce laughed. "Right." He was back in New York. He was _himself_. He was...so tired.

Tony poked him. "Hey. Are you falling asleep again? You just got up."

"Sorry," Bruce said, fighting back a yawn. "It's just been…"

"I know," Tony said reluctantly. "Well, I'll be here if--"

"No, stay," Bruce said, gently tugging Tony toward him as he lay back down on the hospital bed. Tony needed no more encouragement. Bruce fell back to sleep with Tony's arms wrapped around him. 

When Bruce woke up again, Tony was still sound asleep--Bruce wondered how long Tony had stayed up by his bedside before they'd both crashed--but there was a boy sitting in the chair, quietly eating pizza with one hand and playing on his phone with the other. Tony hadn't woken up yet and the kid didn't seem to have noticed Bruce opening his eyes, so Bruce decided to just close his eyes and pretend to be asleep. He didn't feel up to dealing with anything else right now, and it was just nice to feel the warmth of Tony's body next to Bruce's own puny human body.

Then Bruce heard a clatter and felt Tony jerk awake. "Peter? What the hell?" Tony asked.

"S-sorry, Mr. Stark, I--I asked Mr. Hogan where you were and he said here, but then I didn't want to wake you, but then I uhhh tried to see how high I could stack these pizza boxes and...it fell....sorry."

Bruce and Tony both sat up on the bed. Bruce surveyed the mess on the floor and laughed.

"Christ," Tony muttered. "Don't you have school?"

"It's Saturday, so I came for, you know, training?"

"Oh, hell, it's Saturday," Tony said. "Isn't...is Rhodey there?"

Bruce cleared his throat and Tony said, "Oh, that's right, you two haven't met. Bruce, this is Peter Parker, he's...my intern? An Avenger in Training? Peter, this is Bruce Banner, he's the Hulk."

Peter looked at Bruce with wide eyes and extended a hand. "I know! This is so cool. It's so cool to meet you, Dr. Banner, um, I hope you're...feeling better? Are you sick?"

Bruce shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Peter. I'm feeling much better, thanks." Then he turned to Tony and asked, softly, "Hey, um, could I get some clothes, do you think?" 

Sharing a body with the Hulk had made Bruce much more comfortable with public states of undress than he previously would have imagined, but being in a small room with a strange teenage boy made him remember that he was only wearing a thin cotton gown. 

"Hmm...if you must," Tony said. "C'mon, kid, I'll walk you down to the gym and see if I can't find something for Bruce to put on."

"Okay!" the kid said. "Bye, Dr. Banner, I'll see you later, probably? Unless you're going back to space?"

"He's _not_ going back to space," Tony said firmly. 

"Bye," Bruce managed. He overheard the kid start to ask, "So, Mr. Stark, are you guys--" before the door slid shut behind them.

Bruce wondered about Tony's "intern." The kid looked about twelve. And he'd left a mess of boxes on the floor. Bruce looked at the pile for a moment before deciding to climb down from bed to pick them up. He felt fine, physically. He didn't see why he had to stay bedridden.

Just as he'd touched his bare foot to the cold tile floor, the door slid open again, revealing Pepper, wearing sleek black yoga clothes and carrying a small potted succulent. Her eyebrows raised as she took in the scene.

"Bruce! It's so good to see you. Tony promised me he'd text as _soon_ as you were awake, where _is_ he, I can't _believe_ he left you alone with this mess," she said, putting down the plant and picking up the boxes in one graceful movement. She put the empty boxes in the trash and the leftover pizza in a mini-fridge.

"It's good to see you too, Pepper," Bruce said, sitting back on the edge of the bed. She leaned down to kiss him and he said, "No, wait, I don't think I've brushed my teeth in a long time."

She kissed him on the cheek instead and said, "Well, I don't mind, but there should be some of those disposable toothbrushes in the bathroom."

Bruce looked to where she was pointing and realized that the small hospital room did have another door besides the one people kept coming in and out of. He pulled the pulse monitor off his finger and turned off the machine so it wouldn't beep. Then he crossed the room and found that Pepper was right about the toothbrushes. He brushed his teeth with the weird little toothbrush and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked...human. 

He stepped back out of the bathroom and gave Pepper a proper kiss, then said, "Sorry you weren't here earlier--but it's not really Tony's fault, when we woke up there was a kid here? His name was--"

" _Peter_ , right, it's Saturday," Pepper said, nodding. "Still! He should have texted me, God knows he can multitask."

"Wait, so, what's the deal with Peter? He said he was Tony's intern?"

Pepper let out a long sigh. "That is a _long_ story."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere."

Pepper beamed. "That's good to hear." She sat down on the chair, leaned forward, and said, "Okay, so--for the record, Tony and I were...taking a break when this happened, so--Tony found Peter on YouTube and realized he has superpowers that he apparently got from a spider bite, and he'd been using them to stop kind of low level crime. So _Tony_ brought him to _Berlin_ to fight _Captain America_."

"Sorry, could you repeat...all of that?" Bruce asked weakly.

"No, you heard right." Pepper shook her head. "Listen, Bruce, I try my best to keep Tony in line but I need all the help I can get, I'm so glad you're back. I mean, also I missed you. But seriously. He's sixteen. Peter, I mean, though Tony still doesn't act much older."

"Can you go back to where Tony was fighting Captain America?"

"Mm, you're actually going to have to talk to Tony about that," Pepper said. 

"Talk to me about what?" Tony asked from the doorway, where he stood with a backpack. "Hey, Pep."

"You were supposed to tell me when he woke up!" Pepper said. 

"It all happened so fast!" Tony said. "Here, Bruce, I brought you some clothes, even though I have to say that gown is _very_ flattering."

Bruce opened the backpack and found flip-flops, heart print boxer shorts, a pair of black track pants, and a red T-shirt that said "I <3 Iron Man" in gold letters. He sighed and went to change in the bathroom. A shower would be nice, but would have to wait until he got moved to a room with a bigger bathroom.

"Oh my god," Pepper said, upon seeing Bruce's new outfit. "Tony, how many of those shirts do you have?"

"Just one," Tony said. "Well, just one with the gold lettering."

"I appreciate you entrusting me with it."

"We'll get you some real clothes soon," Pepper assured him.

"Are you calling those _fake clothes_?" Tony asked.

"They're great," Bruce said. "Really." He sat back on the edge of the bed and said, "So, um, Pepper...how have you been?"

She burst out laughing. "I'm so glad you're back."

"Me too."

"Are you hungry? Or thirsty? Do you need to rest? Should we call the doctor?" 

"Uh...maybe if there's some water?"

"Of course!" Pepper pulled a bottle of water out of the mini-fridge and Bruce took it gratefully. 

Pepper twisted her hands and said, "So, you're really okay?"

"I guess so."

"Dr. Prakash said he's fine," Tony said. "You know, good vital signs and all that."

Pepper pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and said, "Okay, because there's something we wanted to tell you, before you heard it from somewhere else. Which is that Tony asked me to marry him, and for some reason I said yes, even though it was _literally_ the worst proposal in the _world_."

"I don't think you have the data to back that up," Tony huffed. 

Pepper snorted, and Bruce noticed the glint on her finger. "Oh, uh, congratulations!" he said, feeling guilty about how unhappy the news made him feel. 

Pepper came and sat down next to Bruce on the bed, and Tony sat on the other side of him. She said, "But Bruce, we still want you to be with us. If--if you want to."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Before you left," Tony said. "You remember how it was--it was amazing, by the way."

"We told you we had an open relationship?" Pepper prompted.

"No, I--I know, but marriage is kind of--"

"A meaningless piece of paper?" Tony said.

"See, you can just imagine how terrible his proposal was," Pepper said.

"Look, I've been back on Earth for like a day, I don't want to be a...a homewrecker right off the bat."

"No! Not a homewrecker. You're a home _saver_ ," Tony said. 

"It's true," Pepper agreed. "We really work better with you to balance us. If--if that's what you want to do."

"I just...I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."

"We were hurt when you _left_ ," Pepper said. "Bruce, we were so worried...and we missed you."

"Okay," Bruce said.

"Seriously, we were a mess without you," Tony said. 

"Tony's always a mess, but _I_ was a mess without you," Pepper said.

"I want to object to that, but honestly I can't," Tony said.

"Wow. Well, if it makes you feel any better, without you guys, I apparently spent the last 2 years in some kind of intergalactic fight club, so...I guess I'd better stay here."

"You _what_?" Pepper asked.

Bruce shrugged. He hadn't meant to blurt it out like that. "I don't remember any of it, it's just what Thor told me…"

"Bruce, that's so...you would never do that," Pepper said.

"I mean, obviously no one would want me in their fight club anyway, it was the...other guy."

"Wait, you were--you were the Hulk the whole time you were gone?"

"Um, mostly," Bruce said, as Pepper threw her arms around him in a sideways embrace.

"That's _awful_ , how did that happen?"

"I really don't know. It feels like I've only been away for a few weeks, maybe."

"Well...you're back now," Pepper said.

"And in my professional opinion, you don't need to be in this infirmary room anymore," Tony said.

"You're not a doctor," Pepper protested.

"But I am, and I'm pretty sure he's right," Bruce said.

"I still think another doctor should take a look at you. You've been through a lot."

"She did," Bruce said.

"I mean, again, since she clearly thought you should be hooked up to that monitor you turned off."

"That was to check if I have a pulse, which...I do."

"A likely story," Tony murmured, sliding a hand across Bruce's throat. "No, wait, he's right, he's alive."

"Okay, fine, we can go to the lounge," Pepper said. "This bed is not very comfortable. But I'm still calling the doctor later."

"Alright," Bruce said. He picked up the potted succulent, and Tony and Pepper led him out of his room and through a basement that looked more like a bunker. Bruce realized with a pang that it must have been designed to be Hulk-proof. They went into an elevator and passed through a long hallway before coming out into what looked like a large, comfortable living room. It had big windows that overlooked a forest. 

"This is nice," Bruce said. Stark Tower had been nice, too, but he preferred the view here. He set down his succulent on an end table near a window and paced around the room for a minute, enjoying the feel of normal Earth gravity acting on his dumb flip-flops. The room had a big entertainment center with video games, but he also noticed a large tub of Legos with a half-built creation on the floor next to it, as well as a crate of coloring books and colored pencils. 

"The coloring books are mostly mine," Pepper said, "But I'll share."

"Adult coloring books became kind of a thing while you were gone," Tony said.

"Adult coloring books?"

"They're just more detailed than children's ones. They're not, you know, pornographic," Pepper said.

"At least one of them is pornographic," Tony clarified. "I saw that Magic Mike one you got."

"Fine. But in _general_ they're not," Pepper said. 

Bruce picked up the coloring book off the top of the stack and laughed. It was just elaborately illustrated swear words, and it looked like most of the pages were complete.

"It's supposed to help with stress," Pepper said. "Maybe you should take that one."

"Maybe later," Bruce replied. He put it down and sat in the middle of the room's largest couch. Pepper and Tony immediately settled in on either side of him. It felt a little off; before he'd left, Tony usually ended up in the middle when the three of them would cuddle. He'd always thought that Tony was the glue that held the three of them together.

"Hey, did Thor tell you what's up with his eyepatch?" Tony asked. "He's got like a cool pirate vibe now, huh?"

"Oh, his sister stabbed his eye out."

"Thor has a sister?" Pepper asked.

"Is she more like Loki or more like Thor?" Tony asked.

"Uh...more like Loki...I...hmm," Bruce said. He felt like his brain was thawing out, as pieces of information slipped into place. "Hang on, you said Thor was here with a bunch of refugees?"

"Not _here_ -here," Tony said, "But yeah, on Earth."

"I remember the start of the fight but...I guess I don't actually know how it all turned out."

"Well, you and Thor survived, and brought a bunch of people back with you. And we didn't hear anything about his sister," Pepper said. "So probably fine?"

"I guess," Bruce said, still thinking. "Um, what about--Loki?"

"Thor said he was leaving him on the main ship with some guards, until he got everything set up here on Earth."

"Oh, good." Bruce assumed this meant Val was there--he wasn't sure who else Thor would trust to keep an eye on Loki.

"I'm sure Thor will come back to visit soon," Pepper said. "He was worried about you."

"But not as worried as we were," Tony said.

"It's not a competition," Pepper said.

Bruce said, "I'm sure he has a lot on his mind. Kingly duties and all."

"I thought he was a prince," Tony said.

"Oh...his dad died."

"Oh no! Poor Thor," Pepper said.

"So now he's a space king," Tony mused.

"I guess, yeah." Bruce wished he could access any of the Hulk's memories. He couldn't understand why Thor would have left Asgard.

"Hey, Bruce, good to see you!" a familiar voice called from down the hallway. Bruce looked up and saw Rhodey coming toward them, along with that kid, Peter.

"Rhodey!" Bruce said. He extricated himself from Pepper and Tony to greet his friend, and realized that Rhodey was wearing some kind of leg braces. He looked down and asked, "Is that...some new kind of suit?"

"They're cutting edge mobility aids," Tony said. "Which, by the way, now that you're back I'd love to have your feedback on the design, I think they can be improved."

"Mobility aids?" Bruce asked, taking a closer look.

"Oh yeah, you missed kind of a lot, man," Rhodey said. "But I'm doing fine."

"Hey, Dr. Banner, I like your shirt," Peter said, revealing that he was wearing a similar one, although his was red with white print.

Bruce laughed. "Yeah, you too," he said. 

"Sorry for skipping training today. I had a thing," Tony said, gesturing at Bruce.

"Uh huh," Rhodey said, arms crossed.

"I'll make it up to you later," Tony said. "How'd it go, though?"

"Good! Spider-Man was in fine form," Rhodey said.

"Spider-Man?" Bruce asked.

"That's me!" Peter said. "It's kind of a secret though, you know how it goes."

"Yeah…"

"Hey, I'm starving, is there any more of that pizza?" Peter asked.

"Oh, shoot, I put it in the fridge in the infirmary and forgot," Pepper said. 

"I'll go get it!" Peter said, and ran off down the hallway.

"Where's everyone else? And you guys didn't recruit any other children while I was gone, did you?" Bruce asked.

"We didn't exactly recruit him," Tony said. Rhodey and Pepper glared at him and he added, "But no, no one else. The team's actually, uh, down a few members, overall."

"Wait, did--did someone die?" Bruce asked.

"Oh! No, no," Pepper said. 

"It's just...complicated," Tony said.

"Sure, why wouldn't it be?" Bruce said. It seemed like he had missed a lot while he'd been gone. He wasn't sure how much more new information he could take in at once. He decided that as long as everyone was alive, he could wait to hear details.

Peter came back with the pizza boxes. He sat down on an ottoman and devoured a slice, and then said, "Hey, Dr. Banner, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Bruce said, fully prepared for the next words out of the kid's mouth to be something about the Hulk's pants.

"Well, I read your thesis, and it was super interesting, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts about what effect gamma radiation would have on spiders?"

Bruce blinked. "On spiders? No, I...hadn't looked into that. You read my thesis?"

"He's kind of a genius," Tony said proudly. "But don't let that go to your head, kid, you still have to listen to us grownups."

"I'm trying!" Peter said. To Bruce, he continued, "See, I got bit by this spider, and it gave me, um, spider powers."

"Mm, yeah, I heard a little about that, but could we just define what you mean by 'spider powers'?" Bruce asked. "You, uh, seem like you have the usual amount of legs." Tony and Rhodey snorted.

"Oh, yeah, I do, which is great honestly, it would be really awkward otherwise. Um, but, I'm actually really strong for my size? Like a spider? And--and I can jump really far. And I can tell when bad things are going to happen, I call it my Spidey-sense. I guess...this sounds kind of dumb, but--"

"Listen, I turn into a guy called the Incredible Hulk, I'm not gonna judge you."

"The Hulk's so cool though!"

"Uh, thanks. But so you got all those abilities from a spider bite?"

"Yeah, I mean I guess! It was on a school trip."

Bruce rubbed a hand over his face and reached for a piece of pizza. 

Disappointed, Peter said, "It's fine if you don't have time, I'm sure you're busy."

Bruce said, "Trust me, Peter, my calendar is completely blank, I just need a minute to think about it. I, uh, haven't really been in science mode for awhile."

"Cool, cool," Peter said.

"I don't suppose you still have the spider, do you?" Bruce asked.

"No, I wish! I didn't realize at first what happened, and then once I did, it was like, how am I gonna find some random spider, you know?"

"Sure," Bruce said, chewing thoughtfully. "Do you know what kind of spider it was?"

"Um…I think it was brown."

"Okay...well...okay," Bruce said.

"I have his DNA digitized," Tony said. "Hey, FRIDAY, pull up the kid's DNA."

"Sure thing, boss," a disembodied female voice said, and a holographic molecule appeared in front of of them.

"Um," Bruce said.

"Can you believe you've been missing out on all this?" Pepper asked. "Oh, hi, Dr. Prakash, thanks for coming back."

"Ah, there you are, Dr. Banner," Dr. Prakash said. She was wearing jeans and a sweater and holding her phone in one hand. "You look well for a man with no pulse."

"Oh...sorry."

"No worries, you followed my instructions longer than most of these superheroes do," she said with a smile. "Look, you seem fine, and I know you're in good hands here, so I'm heading out for the day. Rest up, and if you notice anything worrying, Tony and Pepper know how to get ahold of me."

"Thanks," Bruce said.

"Yes, thank you, doctor," Pepper said.

"It was one of my easier cases, really," Dr. Prakash said. "Take care."

She left, and Bruce peered at the DNA strand, rotating it with a gesture. He sighed. "Peter, sorry, can I look at this later? I'm just--"

"Oh! Yeah, totally, of course, my bad," Peter said. "Sorry, I was just really excited to meet you." 

"Well, he's going to be sticking around for awhile, so you can talk about this all later," Tony said.

"Awesome," Peter said. "I have to go pretty soon anyway, May is picking me up at 5. I'm just gonna work on my Lego tower for a little bit."

Bruce watched with some amusement as Peter pulled the tub of Legos over to the table. His amusement grew as Rhodey and Tony pulled up chairs to the table, drawn to the Legos like moths to flame. Pepper looked up from her phone and nudged Bruce. "Go play," she said. "It's kind of their new thing."

Bruce slid off the couch and joined them, kneeling on the floor at the table. "Bruce, if you find any red ones, I need them," Tony said.

"Sure," Bruce agreed. He sorted through the pieces, setting aside red ones and absently clicking other random color pieces together.

"What are you making?" Tony asked.

"I don't know, just...playing, I guess."

"Alright, well...it's your first day," Tony said. 

"Wait, what are _you_ making?"

Rhodey laughed. "Take one guess."

Bruce looked over and sure enough, Tony was building a Lego Iron Man. Rhodey was making a Millenium Falcon, and Peter was continuing work on his giant tower. Bruce smiled and decided he'd make a spaceship, too. He kind of zoned out, enjoying the satisfying clicks of the pieces snapping together.

"Hey, what's that?" Tony asked.

"Spaceship," Bruce said.

"No, _this_ is a spaceship," Rhodey said, holding up his Millenium Falcon. "Oh dang, yours is cool too, though."

"Whoa, look at it," Tony said, casually pulling it out of Bruce's hand. "These are really sleek lines. I mean, for Legos. Is this what Thor's ship looks like?"

"No, it's, um, from Sakaar. I mean, it's how I remember it. But with Legos."

"Yeah, I gathered that part, actually."

"Wow, nice!" Peter said. "That's so awesome! I can't believe you've been on a real spaceship!"

"Thanks," Bruce said, feeling sheepish. "Um, yours is cool too. How long have you been working on it?"

"Um, like, all year, but I had to take apart the middle and redo it to make it more structurally sound, so...anyway, awhile. My friend Ned and I made this really awesome Death Star last year but it was from a kit, so it's like, a different type of situation," Peter explained.

Just then, four different phone alarms went off. "Oh, I have to go," Peter said.

Bruce raised his eyebrows, and Pepper said, "It was really hard to convince his aunt to let him come here, so...we try really hard to make sure he gets picked up on time. Despite Tony's best efforts."

Peter carefully put away his tower and said, "Bye Mr. Stark! Bye Col. Rhodes! Bye Ms. Potts! Bye Dr. Banner! See you next week!"

"Bye," they chorused, as Peter picked up his backpack and went down the hall.

"Should someone go with him?" Bruce asked. Peter didn't seem quite old enough to be unsupervised.

"His aunt actually prefers to see as little of us as possible," Tony said.

"She might like Bruce, though," Pepper said.

"She might," Tony said. "Maybe we'll try to introduce you."

"Um," Bruce said.

"Next time," Tony said.

"Or like in a few months," Pepper suggested. 

"Sure," Bruce agreed. He snapped more Legos into place and admired his finished creation.

"It's nice, but you should have picked a color scheme," Tony said.

"It's his first day at Legos," Rhodey said. 

"You're right, I'm sure he'll do better next week," Tony said.

"Boys, the only thing that really matters is that you all pick up every single Lego," Pepper said.

"If you didn't walk around barefoot--" Tony started, before Pepper cut him off with a glare.

"We'll clean up," Bruce assured her.

"It's _so_ good to have you back," Pepper said.

"Good to be back," Bruce said. He took apart his spaceship and put the pieces in the tub, then leaned back and said, "Ow." He pulled a small 2x1 Lego piece out from under his palm and tossed it back in the bin. 

"What are you smiling about?" Tony asked.

"It's just nice to have problems with simple solutions."

"Oh, don't worry, there are plenty of lingering messes here on Earth," Tony said. "But we can work on those tomorrow."

"You learned your lesson about murder robots though, right?" Rhodey asked.

"I remember it like it was yesterday," Bruce said.

"I want to say 'too soon,' but...it has been two years," Tony said.

"Too soon," Pepper said, firmly.

"Okay, well, I have a lot to catch up on," Bruce said.

"Why don't we start with your Netflix queue?" Pepper asked.

"That sounds good," Bruce said. They put away the rest of the Legos and joined Pepper on the couch for what he hoped would be the first of many quiet nights at home.


End file.
